Analysis of the Impact of Livelihood Capital on Livelihood Strategies of Leased-In Farmland Households: A Case Study of Jiangxi Province, China

Abstract

In the context of the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the industrialization of agriculture and rural areas is rapidly increasing, and more and more capable people in rural management are actively leasing land to develop modern agriculture, broaden diversified livelihood channels, and pursue sustainable development. We used leased-in farmland households as an entry point, focusing on the development of rural industries and the choice of livelihood strategies to fill a gap in the existing literature. Based on sustainable livelihood theory, we constructed a sustainable livelihood analysis framework for leased-in farmland households using the survey data of 283 leased-in farmland households in Yudu County. A livelihood capital indicator system was constructed, and the entropy value method and other measurement methods were used. Firstly, we analyzed and comprehensively evaluated the livelihood capital and livelihood strategies of leased-in farmland households in Yudu County, Jiangxi Province. We then used binary logistic regression models and polynomial logistic regression models to analyze the influence of the differentiation in leased-in farmland households’ livelihood capital on the choice of livelihood strategies and their transformation and conducted robustness tests on the relevant findings. Different types of livelihood capital have different effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies. Natural capital and physical capital have significant positive effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies, but financial capital, human capital, and social capital have negative effects. Natural capital has a significant negative effect on the pluriactivity strategy, while physical, human, and social capital have insignificant effects on it. For off-farm livelihood strategies, natural capital and financial capital have insignificant effects, physical capital has a significant negative effect, and human capital and social capital have a significant positive contribution.